I am taking part in an anthology with nine other authors in Backbone Single Parent Romance. Each story is around 10K words and contains single parents who learned to make it on their own but find love. My contribution to the book is Dream Come True. The book will be published wide and should release on February 25th. The buy links are at the bottom of the post.
Dream Come True by M.D. Stewart
Chet Davis suffers nightmares from his time in the Army, but the minute he sees Layla beside her broken-down car, he knows she’s his dream come true. After years of silently carrying a torch for his friend’s sister, he’s decided wasting time is no longer an option. He’s willing to put his heart on the line to make sure Layla understands she and her nephew, Nathan, are his family.
When tragedy struck, Layla Brown stepped up and took in her infant nephew. In the last five years, she’s learned to juggle being a nurse, with being a single parent. Dating has never crossed her mind, until she runs into Chet, her secret high school crush. When a threat from the past crashes into her life and jeopardizes her future, can she count on Chet to stand by her side?
Together Chet and Layla lean on one another and form an unbreakable bond of love and acceptance while fighting against losing the child Layla considers her son.
Excerpt of Dream Come True from Backbone Single Parent Romance Anthology
©M.D. Stewart 2021 the following contains Adult Language
Layla stomped her foot and let loose a stream of words that would make a sailor blush. Luckily, she’d just dropped her young nephew at preschool before the tire went flat. Otherwise, the little boy would be repeating words that would get him expelled. Now she was going to be late for work. If she had a spare tire.
Sighing, she moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk. After more swearing and digging through T-ball and forgotten karate gear, including the new catcher’s mitt Nathan couldn’t find, she located the spare tire and jack. She only hoped the spare wasn’t dry rotted or flat too. To make matters worse, thunder rolled over her head.
“Dammit!” She eyed the darkening sky. “Sure, why don’t you just add another crappy thing to screw up my day. Instead of creating more problems, you could send someone to help, you know.” She didn’t really know who she was talking to, but it helped to blame someone.
Lifting a flap on the floor of the trunk, she found the jack and tire iron were under the spare tire. She gathered everything and laid them on the side of the road. Just as a fat raindrop landed on her head. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! That isn’t helping.” She wanted to raise her fist to the sky and cuss, but feared whatever was up there would take that as a challenge.
The sound of an engine behind her car grabbed her attention. The old Jeep Wrangler’s flashers came on before the door opened and a jean-clad leg appeared. Lightning flashed just as the big man came into view, a smile on his face and his hazel eyes sparkling.
“Looks like you have a flat. You already got all the stuff out, but can I help?”
“Thank you. I’d do it myself, but I have to go to work, and I’ll ruin my clothes.” She glanced down at her cartoon-covered scrubs before looking up again and studying his face. He looked familiar and her heart began to pound in her chest when she recognized him. The dark hair visible under his hat was shorter than she remembered and his body more muscled, but his kind hazel eyes were the same she dreamed of for years. “Chet Davis? Gosh, it’s been a decade since I’ve seen you. How have you been?”
The man smiled. “I’m good, Layla. I wasn’t sure you’d recognize me since the last time we saw each other you were just out of high school.”
Layla was shocked he remembered her. Chet Davis had been the captain of the football team, the president of his senior class, and one of the most popular boys in the school. He had been friends with her older brother, Lance, and had graduated with him. She could remember hours of daydreaming about him noticing her and not caring that she was too plump. Now she wished she could fall through a crack in the pavement. She was as plain as rainwater—he still looked hotter than hell.
If you’re interested in finding out more about this book and the other stories in this anthology, join the Facebook Group, Backbone, Finding Love
Buy Links
𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑙 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘: https://books2read.com/backbone
𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58673510
M.D. Stewart's Writers Blog 